How is a region created and defined? How does it shape us and how do we, in turn, shape a region?

Sculpted is a definitive, ground-breaking anthology of poems by 62 of the North West’s best contemporary poets. As diverse as the area that inspired them, the poems dig beneath the skin of the region: its towns and cities, countryside, industries, history, geology, and above all, its people.

‘The North West is a hotbed of poetry. If you want to know why, read this book’.— Carol Ann Duffy

‘The North West is the magnetic gathering point for these 62 notable poets. In Sculpted we are treated to a heady display of individual styles and voices unified by an extraordinary landscapeand its ever unfolding narrative’.— Geraldine Monk

‘The Lake Poets are history; if you really want to take the poetic pulse of the North West, read Sculpted, a salty sassy anthology of England’s top left bits’.— Daisy Goodwin

Sculpted will be launching around the region this spring and summer. Details of these can be found on our Events page.

Buy the Book

Sculpted is published by NW Poets in paperback. (ISBN 978-0-9575393-0-3) priced £10. It features 62 poets over 200 pages and with an introduction by David Morley.

You can buy Sculpted via Paypal, through this site.

Featured Poets

Over the coming weeks and months you’ll be able to read extracts from the anthology and find out more about some of the poets here.

About North West Poets

NW Poets was founded in 2011 as a loose grouping of experienced and emerging poets to workshop their poetry, and to share and collaborate. The Sculpted anthology is the first publication by NW Poets and showcases a large number of our members.

Green belt land is often rich in wildlife, having been untouched, in most cases, for centuries. Those of us who live in or visit these areas view them as part of our identities, or as necessary to our well-being.

Green belts were created to protect rural areas and villages from development, unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’. Despite this, thousands of houses are being built on these unspoilt spaces, across the country, when there are other viable options. Once these landscapes have gone, it will be impossible to get them back.

The Anthology

Our aim is to make this anthology available to everyone, and as close to free as possible. We hope that it will be given to people who are directly affected by green belt development, to people who live in cities or towns but who enjoy visiting rural areas, and to anyone who loves the British countryside. It is, for us, less about political wrangling and more about speaking out – because this land is crucial to us; it must not be effaced.

Getting hold of it

There is a £3 minimum donation for the anthology. This is to cover postage, with any extra going towards production costs. You can order copies by clicking the Not On Our Green Belt Paypal donation button to the right of this page. If you believe that our green belts need protecting, please consider a larger donation. We aim to print a lot more copies, but we do need donations if we’re to make this happen.

Campaigners

We encourage campaigners around the country to contact us regarding large orders. Our own recent experience has shown that people are delighted to receive these books as part of a campaign in their area – poetry brings a hope and an energy which political campaign materials cannot.

The Cumbria Launch took place on June 8th at the Wordsworth Trust in Grasmere. Seven poets read (Lindsey Holland, Angela Topping, Geraldine Green, Rachel McGladdery, Kim Moore, Steven Waling and David Riley) and the event also featured this video and soundtrack.

The photographs were taken by members of North West Poets and the music was composed for the Sculpted project by Ian McCardle. The video also features time-lapse film, much of it shot in the Lake District, by Lindsey Holland. It was produced by Matt Agan. We hope you enjoy it!